goodbye scott, rest in peace

http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=8986996

I interrupt these musings of our summer fun to share with you all a recent loss.

Officer Dario "scott" Aponte was killed the other night in a car crash while responding to a domestic violence call.

Scott was the father of a child who went to the same therapeutic center as my son.

For the past two years as I have sat in the waiting room for two hours, I have gotten to know Scott's mother in law, wife and child. Anyone with a child on the spectrum knows the connectedness one feels when hour after hour, week after week, one sits in the waiting room sharing joys and pains with another parent in the same boat.

I laughed with the boys grandmother, shared recipes for the holidays, and waited patiently for the arrival of their baby last spring. I shared hopes and new ideas with the boys mother, and prayers that her new baby would be born healthy.

When Scott started bringing in the son, I knew the baby had come. We shared tales of sleepless nights, of mother inlaws who are so helpful but live too close....and other things that parents in waiting rooms talk about....and even more than that, as my son pursues a degree in criminal justice; he shared some tips with me there as well. Scott and his wife were both cops in New Haven Connecticut.

He was so happy about the birth of his new baby...

So when the news hit our television yesterday, I didn't quite recognize that it was Scott who was killed.

I called "ANNE". Anne is the center of all of our being at this therapy center. I am not sure what her title is, but it is her face that greets us at the counter, her voice that we hear on the phone... her patience that we feel when we are having a stressed out day.

I knew when I heard her voice. "Anne, that isn't our cop, is it?"

"yes."

and devastion has set in for all of us.

This man Scott was a sweetheart, family centered, loving, and positive man. He loved his family in a way that one doesnt' see to often- it showed in his eyes and smile. He was kind, funny and easy to love.

My heart goes out to the family- to the small children who will no longer have daddy at home, to his mother in law and most of all to his wife.

His wife; a fellow police officer; a mother; a woman; who is now left grieving for her love while raising a 4 month old baby and a special needs son..


http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=8986996
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